NJ Dems Flip 4 House Seats; Menendez Wins

Mikie Sherrill, Tom Malinowski help Democrats retake control of the House.

[Editor’s note: This post has been updated to reflect Andy Kim’s victory in District 3.]

Four New Jersey congressional districts that had been in the hands of Republicans for decades have turned blue. Jersey Democrats flipped the four seats in yesterday’s national election, riding a wave that helped the party take control of the House for the first time since 2010.

In District 2, State Senator Jeff Van Drew defeated Republican Seth Grossman to win the seat held by Congressman Frank LoBiondo, who announced his retirement last December. LoBiondo occupied the seat since 1995.

In District 7, former assistant U.S. secretary of state Tom Malinowski unseated incumbent Leonard Lance, who has held the seat since 2008.

And in District 11, rising star Mikie Sherrill, a former Navy pilot and prosecutor, defeated Jay Webber to secure the seat held by Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen, who did not seek re-election. Frelinghuysen occupied the seat since 1995.

After a tight, closely watched race, Andy Kim has ousted incumbent Tom MacArthur in District 3 following days of counting election ballots. After pulling ahead when mail-in ballots were counted last Wednesday, Kim declared victory, though the announcement from the Associated Press makes it official. The counting of provisional ballots will likely conclude at the end of the week; MacArthur has conceded.

Another notable win for the Democrats was in Bergen County, where NAACP President and former Englewood police officer Anthony Cureton won the race for sheriff. Cureton replaces Michael Saudino, who resigned in September after a recording of him making racist comments about Attorney General Gurbir Grewal and others became public.

It wasn’t all bad news for Republicans. GOP incumbent Chris Smith won his re-election in District 4 against challenger Joshua Welle.

In all, eight New Jersey incumbents won re-election to the house. Democrats now hold 11 of New Jersey’s 12 seats in the House.

New Jersey voters also approved the Ballot Issue, which will allow the state to borrow $500 million for school security, county colleges, vocational schools and water improvement projects.